DOES GOD CARE ABOUT THE DOWNCAST? He cares enough that He has put the answer all around us.
- 2 Corinthians 7:6 – “God . . . comforts the downcast”
- We doubt. We feel discouraged and downcast and we wonder if God cares.
- And this is a big deal because there are so many today who struggle with depression and discouragement.
- This passage has good news in that simple statement in v. 6: “God comforts the downcast.” This tells us something important about who He is. He’s not one to say, “Suck it up and get over it.” He’s not one to say, “Toughen up.” He’s not one to say, “Try harder to get better.” Instead, it tells us that He comforts the downcast.
- There is a host of ways that He could do this (and certainly we want to acknowledge that clinical depression should be dealt with medically), but I want to drill down on the one that we find throughout these verses. It’s interesting and ironic that He has made the answer so abundant and so obvious. Yet we still miss it sometimes.
HOW DOES HE COMFORT? He created us so that opening our hearts to people opens our hearts to joy.
- 2 Corinthians 7:2 – “Make room for us in your hearts”
- One of the main ways that God comforts the downcast is through those around them.
- There is power and comfort (even if your circumstances haven’t changed) in being understood and heard.
- We don’t seem to appreciate this power, even though we’ve all experienced it.
- We’ve all spoken our heart to someone about a situation that was getting us down. Afterward, even though the situation itself hadn’t changed one iota, nonetheless we felt better. We were not as downcast anymore.
- When we think of God comforting the downcast, we might think of a miracle or an intangible sense of divine presence or a providential appointment. But we don’t think near as often about the common presence of people all around us. It seems too common, too obvious.
- We don’t think nearly as often about God working through His people. We should, though, because we talk about God’s people being His hands and feet.
- God gave us the church not as an afterthought. Instead, it’s integral to His plan and how He intends to support us. He knows how He made us and what we need to overcome the valleys when we feel downcast.
- What Paul says at the start of our passage is key: “Make room for us in your hearts.”
- So many of us today need to do this. We have pushed people away and chosen to retreat into isolation. We have no-maintenance “friendships” on social media that just leave us feeling worse. We have epidemic loneliness.
- All around us He has given us the antidote to this, but it requires opening our hearts to people. And many of us have become unwilling to do that.
- In one way, this isn’t a surprise.
- I remember hearing about a massive longitudinal study done by Harvard about life happiness. The results were simple: relationships are what brings happiness.
- Sometimes I wonder if we’ve forgotten how to be friends.
- That seems a ridiculous statement, but we see evidence of it all around us. The epidemic loneliness. The inability to connect with people. The continually doing things the same things that aren’t working.
- Also note that in v. 5 Paul speaks about the struggles he went through. Again, the joy he speaks about in v. 7 did not show up because those struggles disappeared. Rather, they happened because of the connection with the Corinthians that Titus shared with Paul.
- Often our most meaningful moments may involve going through a crisis together and emerging closer because of that. Again, it’s not an absence of struggles that brings this joy.
BUT HAVE YOU MET HUMANITY? “People are a pain” is not an adequate excuse to ignore this.
- 2 Corinthians 7:2-4, 6-7.
- Many of us shun the connections we’re talking about here because we say that people are difficult and annoying. “If somehow we could be surrounded by loving, caring people instead of the ones I’ve actually got around me, then maybe this would be true.”
- Well, it doesn’t work that way.
- Notice the difference between vv. 2-3 and vv. 4, 6-7. In vv. 2-3 Paul speaks of his challenging relationship with the Corinthians. There were misunderstandings. There were uncertainties. Yet in vv. 4, 6-7 he speaks words of encouragement and value to them.
- This shows us that the situation doesn’t need to be perfect around us for us to be able to experience this. And that’s good because it seems like there are always misunderstandings and uncertainties when you’re dealing with people. But we step up anyway.
- We lose joy by being unwilling to embrace others amid misunderstanding and uncertainty.
- We have to be willing to overlook the slight. We have to be willing to be a bigger person. This isn’t just for moral rightness, but also because we want to experience the joy described here.
- We need this too much to forsake it. The consequences of not having this are too great.
STEPS FORWARD:
1. Decide if you’re content to be downcast.
- As stated earlier, I want to be careful to acknowledge that there are those who are dealing with clinical depression and that needs to be dealt with medically. (Although the truths we’re discussing here are certainly an important part of getting healthy.)
- But for most of us dealing with the everyday discouragement, depression, and being downcast, the truths were focusing on this morning are crucial.
- Yet most of us have allowed ourselves to slide into isolation. Maybe it’s because everyone around us seems to be doing the same thing. Maybe it’s because we’re just being lazy. Maybe it’s because we’ve forgotten how to be friends with people. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt this is a substantial problem for our culture. Will we just go with the flow and be depressed?
- This is a truth we need to confront ourselves this morning. We are not intended to be downcast. God cares for the downcast. And one of the greatest things He’s given to those struggling with that discouragement is those around them.
- Again excepting those with medical issues, it needs to be said that in general being downcast and depressed is usually our fault. We’ve shunned the very people who could bring us comfort.
- God has made the resource plentiful. God has made the resource obvious. People are all around us!
- So we have to decide if we want to stay where we are.
2. Share joy by praying for someone.
- Let me give a specific example of one way you can pour yourself into someone.
- Ask someone how you can pray for them and then follow that up by actually praying with them, opening your heart and love to them.
- It also is powerful to follow up later and tell them that you’ve been praying for them and ask how things are going. This is deeply meaningful for people because most people would not continue to pray for them.
3. Share joy by actually listening to someone.
- We’ve been talking throughout this sermon about connecting with people. One of the most obvious ways is simply to sit down and listen to someone. To allow them to unburden themselves.
- Now, I’m not talking about solving their problems. I’m not talking about eagerly anticipating when they stop talking so you can jump in with your thoughts. I just mean asking someone about their problem and then listening.
- In doing that, you can help someone to come out of their downcast state.
